A ranching couple has accused Idaho regulators of colluding to shield the J.R. Simplot agribusiness company from the consequences of a spill from a phosphate slurry pipeline.

Lynn and Glenna Rasmussen of Grace, Idaho, have filed a lawsuit against Simplot seeking nearly $280 million in damages for allegedly poisoning their cattle and permanently harming their business.

“From the very outset of when Simplot became aware of the pipeline leak, Simplot has engaged in a willful and deliberate pattern of conduct to withhold information regarding the scope of the spill of its highly toxic materials, and to minimize potential consequences to its bottom line, resulting in devastation to the Rasmussens, their legacy, the affected ecosystem, and actual and potential harms to public health,” according to the federal complaint.

Representatives of Simplot have not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

The lawsuit has also named as defendants Idaho’s Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality, claiming the agencies engaged in “coordination and collusion” and “protected Simplot above all else,” instead of enforcing environmental laws and keeping contaminated meat out of the food supply.

“Rather than take the appropriate measures to address, remediate and contain the toxic contamination into the environment caused by Simplot’s pipeline, the IDEQ and IDA stridently worked to contain, remediate and address the potential harms to Simplot,” the complaint said.

Neither state agency agreed to respond to the allegations because the matter involves pending litigation.

“We are committed to respecting the legal process and ensuring that any proceedings are handled appropriately through the proper channels,” according to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

The dispute pertains to an alleged spill of phosphate slurry along Simplot’s 86-mile pipeline that transports the material from its Smoky Canyon Mine to its fertilizer manufacturing facility in Pocatello, Idaho.

Phosphate rock from the mine is ground into powder, then mixed with water into a slurry for transport through the pipeline to the processing plant, where it’s turned into fertilizer.

The plaintiffs claim that in September 2023, their son, Danny, who helps operate the ranch, noticed “an unusual and observably large amount of dark substance” on a public lands grazing allotment in the Caribou National Forest, which was later confirmed to be phosphate slurry from a rupture in the pipeline.

The lawsuit claims that Simplot greatly underestimated the amount of toxic material that had been released several months earlier, contaminating water sources on which the ranch depends for its cattle.

“It is apparent that Simplot has also not reported to the EPA and other federal agencies that have oversight the spill and levels of contamination released into the environment with anything close to the sufficient detail required under the company’s legal obligations to do so,” the plaintiffs allege.

Chemical analysis of soil from the area indicated the spill contained toxic levels of cadmium, vanadium, arsenic, lead and other substances that have poisoned the couple’s cattle and local wildlife, according to the lawsuit.

“Simply put, the massive amounts of toxic slurry emitted by the Simplot pipeline is nothing short of an ecological disaster for the wide effected area,” the complaint said.

The plaintiffs claim that biopsies of several slaughtered cattle confirmed the animals were exposed to toxic levels of the chemicals, resulting in severe adverse effects on their reproduction and other biological functions, but the meat was still sold for general consumption by a slaughterhouse partly owned by Simplot.

“In addition to the studies of the deceased cows and calves, the Rasmussens have observed notable signs of distress and damage to their remaining living herd and their calves contaminated by the slurry, i.e. including weight loss, lack of growth, not eating or digesting properly, lethargy, distress, and failure to breed or reproduce,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit alleges that Idaho’s agriculture and environmental regulators downplayed the impacts of the spill, with Simplot offering to buy the remaining affected cattle without actually removing the meat from commerce.

“Again, Simplot intended to place Rasmussen’s cattle into the market and food chain — regardless of the very apparent harmful effects to the animal health and human consumption,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit alleges that Idaho officials didn’t follow “proper regulatory measures” and disregarded environmental laws in an effort to protect Simplot from the consequences of the spill, thus allowing the company to investigate the scale of the leak rather than fully enforce the required statutes.

The effects of the spill have continued to persist in the area, as Simplot did not fully remove contaminated soil, allowing the toxins to be absorbed by vegetation that’s been consumed by the ranch’s cattle, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Simplot’s negligence and trespass will directly cause up to $29.5 million in damages to the ranch over the next 15 years, but it also seeks up to $250 million in punitive damages against the company due to its “deliberate and outrageous conduct.”

The Rasmussens say they’ve had to continue caring for contaminated cattle, which should have been condemned by authorities and kept out of the food supply, adding to the losses sustained from being unable to use the grazing allotment affected by the spill.

“They can no longer afford the expense of this feed and care, and the albatross that hangs on their necks as a result,” the complaint said.

The ranch, which was previously profitable and expanding, has gone into debt due to the incident and the business’s expenses are outpacing its income, rendering it “insolvent,” according to the lawsuit.

“Lynn and Glenna are tormented by the thought that their seven-generation family legacy may be coming to an end while they were at the helm,” the complaint said. “In truth, no amount of money will ever be sufficient to cover the devastating consequences of Simplot’s actions to Lynn and Glenna’s emotional health and well-being.”

Aside from monetary damages, the complaint demands that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is also named as a defendant, investigate the hazardous spill under the Clean Water Act and work to remedy the contamination as a federal “Superfund” site.

“Due to Simplot’s lack of action, and the feckless response of the agencies involved, it is unlikely at this point that the slurry can ever be fully remediated. The harm that has been caused will never be fully recoverable.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that “as a matter of longstanding practice,” the agency “cannot comment on any current or pending litigation.”